Cold Blooded
by lessonsinlovexoxo
Summary: AU. Genderbent. 25 year old Bella moves from Australia to the Pacific Northwest when she gets a job working with snakes at the Oregon Zoo. Little does she know that she is walking into a dangerous new world of vampires, werewolves, romance and a deadly enemy who is out for her blood. BellaxFemEdward, some BellaxFemJacob. M for lesbian lemons. Oneshot.


**A/N: This is my first ever fanfiction! The idea just wouldn't leave me alone. It's genderbent femslash Twilight with a more adult take. And Bella has a personality. Hope you like chapter one.**

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><p><em>Prologue<em>

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><p>Bella always thought she was ordinary. She was adventurous, of course, and held venomous snakes in her arms with no regard for safety. But a job in science and a degree in facts and figures has let her know that she is no different from any other human being. They all live, breathe, die and go in and out of the world the same way.<p>

But Bella no longer breathes, and no longer will die. A human, mid-twenties; a year ago she moved to Oregon from Australia after escaping Arizona and grabbed a secure job to become a full adult. She was unmistakably usual. Now she is a vampire. Her true love changed her, and Bella still wears her bloodied wedding dress as the vampire guards lead her through a dimly lit manor somewhere in the Pacific Islands.

She feels strongly that something wicked is about to happen. The woman leading the guards who roughly carry Bella is a proud ex-member of the Volturi, Jane, who was created thousands of years ago by the first vampire. The guards have tattoos of the Eye of Horus – Jane's creator is Amunet, the destroyer of worlds.

Bella wonders if Emma is looking for her. Too many times of late she has played the damsel in distress. The world of vampires is one she was pushed into, and it seems out to get her.

But she loves Emma more strongly than she has felt anything in her life. She thinks of her true love: beautiful beyond belief, with words that entrance Bella, a warm embrace and electrifying sex. She hopes her mind remains on Emma if Jane burns her or drives a stake through her heart.  
>Less than a month ago Bella was a human engaged to a vampire. Now she is an abducted vampiress wishing she could breathe deeply and prepare for doom. Maybe Janelle will save her. The love triangle between a werewolf and a vampire was confusing at first, but Janelle is now her best friend. One of them will come, if Bella cannot escape herself.<p>

They reach a room with two vampires in hoods and a coffin in the center. A fluorescent light shines above the coffin, illuminating it like a museum display. Bella swallows.

"She has returned, Amunet," Jane says, her voice purring and enchanting. FEmmaen as a blonde child, once enslaved by law and order, now indebted to the woman she loved. _Pain is the price we pay to feel_. "She has returned and now you can wake to claim your world."

Bella is completely and utterly confused.

"Returned?" she whispers. No one responds.

Suddenly, the lid of the coffin breaks open. Bella screams but no other vampire flinches. The guards hold her tightly as a figure slowly rises from the ebony box. Beautiful; as all vampires are. Her skin is Mediterranean, her hair pitch black and cascading, face chiseled and cold, full, red lips and glowing scarlet eyes. Not gold like Emma's. The air seems to thicken Around the vampiress as she rises from her crypt.

Bella knows now that the world is in danger. She also knows that she is in danger. Amunet was locked away millennia ago for good reason. And now, as the darkness and unease that hung like fog over Bella's dream wedding, the fears of the vampires have proven true.

Amunet has returned.

Bella never put much thought into real danger. She was years ago attacked while in Belize by a mugger and it left her shaken up. But once she fell in love powerfully and irrevocably, and became immortal to share forever with Emma's heart, Bella forgot about fear and doom.

Now she worries for everyone she loves.

"Bella," Amunet says, her voice sounding as if it has not been used for a long time. She grabs Jane's arm to help step over the boundaries of the coffin. Jane stares at Amunet with the same kind of love that binds Bella and Emma. Bella knows that it must hurt to wait so long to be reunited with the one your soul is tied to.

"Yes?" Bella whispers. She is anxious to talk to people on a regular basis, and now she struggles as she is faced with a deity.

"We've been waiting for you," Amunet says gently, reaching forward and caressing Bella's face. "This won't be possible without you on my side. No longer human, I see. That makes things easier."

"Will anyone tell me what's going on here?" Bella stammers but her voice is barely a breath.

"In time, all will be revealed."

"Emma will come for me," Bella says, summoning the courage to look Amunet in the eye.  
>"She'll certainly try. But Carlisle's precious daughter is no hero. There is no rescue now, Bella. It's best to accept your fate." Amunet turns to her followers and ignores her prey.<p>

Bella's mind returns to Emma as she worries she will never see her wife again.

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><p><em>Chapter One<em>

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><p>The death adder slithers up Bella's arm. Its eyes are focused intently on her, confident and cold. One bite could kill, but so far it has not decided to strike. Bella's heart beats rapidly, <em>thu-thump, thu-tump, thu-thump<em>. It feels like a trap for James Bond, a snake circling Around her body.

Bella grabs it by the mid-section and returns it to its proper cage. She smirks at the serpent and it sniffs the air. Quietly, it coils up and ignores the fact that it was just free.

"You shouldn't play with those things," Mike remarks, dropping a meal into a lizard's enclosure. "I know it's all well and fine, until it digs its teeth into you."

"I can't help it. They're so pretty." Bella locks the death adder safely away, setting her finger on the glass affectionately.

"Haven't you ever seen _Fatal Attractions_?"

"Nope."

"_When Animals Attack_?"

"_Ma_ybe." Bella waves her hand dismissively. "I've done an awful lot of training, Mike."

He shrugs. "You always do what you want, don't you?"

"Of course."

"And now you're back off to America. I'm gonna miss your reckless disregard for safety protocol," Mike says, smiling sadly. Bella bites her lip.

Bella, a twenty-five year old herpetologist, is moving away from her past five years in Australia back home to the United States. Everything here feels so natural now, not like Belize or South Africa on her short bursts of working for a few months there. She supposes everything has to come to an end, and with a job offer at the Oregon Zoo, back with Charlie, she can't help but accept, as much as she loves her friends and life in Sydney. It was like her friends and life in Arizona that she fell in love with, and forever abandoned Forks, where she spent weekends. Bella has moved a lot, but never expected to move to the dreary, rainy Pacific Northwest.

She looks into the glass in the reptile enclosure. Slender frame, long brunette hair, deep brown eyes, thick eyelashes, slight nose, full but chapped lips, flannel blouse and denim miniskirt, pale skin. She is ordinary and doesn't see how beautiful she is.

Mike, her best friend, has shaggy brown hair and tan skin, muscular and strangely shy. He works with reptiles too at the zoo with her. They met while Bella was on a study abroad for college that she never left.

"I'm gonna miss you," Mike says, his eyes intently focused on a lizard.

"I know," Bella replies smugly and Mike snorts. Quietly, Bella adds, "I'll miss you too."

She walks to the freezer to find the mice for the coastal taipan.

After her last day of work, Bella comes home to the apartment she shares with Mike and Jessica. Jessica is cooking some grandiose meal, though she is still dressed in her scrubs. Mike plods off to the shower and Bella looks Around at her home of five years.

They would go camping in the Outback, or surfing at Bondi Beach. Bella would stay up late watching terrible reality television with Jessica. And when Fi broke up with her boyfriend or Bella with her girlfriend they would console each other for hours. Bella has had bad luck with relationships since high school.

This feels like the only life she has known, but now it is all changing. She hopes for the better.

"I'm making your favorite, Bells!" Jessica announces, tossing her brunette hair behind her back.

"You really don't have to," Bella says, squirming slightly in her Converse.

"Of course I do. You'll keep in touch, won't you?" Jessica says and Bella nods sharply.

That night they eat dinner together, friends united. Bella stays up late, even though she has a flight early in the morning. She will miss her friends more than anything.

They talk about everything and nothing, reminisce and tease each other. The wine continuously flows until the bottle dries up. Bella stumbles off to bed with a hollow feeling in her heart.

The photo album Mike handed her is tucked into her backpack. A gigantic camping bag that now contains her entire life. It's funny how all of those years can be packed in a single bag. Her laptop case and purse are set aside as carry-on luggage.

Bella sleeps oddly soundly.

_Bella is walking through a crowded room. The music is a loud futuristic rap rave sound that Bella finds unfamiliar. Walls shaking with the blast of the bass. People dance and make-out, the room a wild party._

_ As she moves forward, she sees a stage, illuminated by scarlet lights. As she continues her walk, the room bursts into an uproar of, "Kill, kill, kill!" Bella is seized by arms with preternatural strength and forced onto the stage._

_ She screams, but before a sound can escape, someone rips out her throat with sharpened teeth._

Bella wakes up drenched in cold sweat. The dream was much more vivid than anything she has ever experienced. She shivers with the terror, reassuring herself that this early morning is real and the dream was invented by her overactive imagination.

"Hey, time to go," Mike says, rattling his car keys in his hand.

She gets out of bed easily and shuts the door to get dressed. Her miniskirt again but this time with a V-neck t-shirt and Converse. She forgoes the shower and brushes her hair, applying make-up and making sure she has all of her belongings.

This is it. Goodbye Wonderland.

The plane finally lands at PDX. She gets out, her legs wobbly, and walks away from the terminal. The airport smells funny, different than her home in Australia. The Powell's reminds her of her bookish days back in Arizona, probably contributing to how she _never tanned_. Reading _Wuthering Heights _and dreaming about romance. Maybe it won't be so bad to return for good, she realizes as she sees the people who overwhelm the television show _Portlandia_ and the shops she recalls from her childhood.

At the circular entrance, Bella sees Charlie, her dad. He looks surprisingly good, after only seeing him on holidays in Forks.

Bella hugs her dad tightly, although she is hoping she will not have to talk to him too much. She loves her dad, but they never spent too much time together.

"How's Forks?" Bella asks as they walk towards the car.

"Not bad. How are the snakes?" Charlie replies in a slightly teasing tone and Bella laughs slightly.

"Hopefully fine." She gets into Charlie's small car, strapping on her seatbelt in the passenger seat.

Bella and Charlie take off back into Bella's abandoned home, while Bella has no idea what will happen next. This transition is oddly frightening; a foreboding sensation resides in Bella's stomach.

A half hour later, Bella walks into her new apartment. It is tiny and empty, in the middle of Beaverton. Charlie shuts the door behind them and looks Around.

"You can always stay with me," Charlie offers, staring at the decrepit kitchen in distaste. It certainly is not the most inviting of accommodations, but it is what Bella can afford.

"I'm an adult," Bella says, flicking on the next set of lights. "I don't need much. I've lived in a tent in the Amazon for a couple of months; I think I can handle a shitty apartment."

Charlie shrugs. "The offer still stands. I definitely have extra room, and Janelle would love to see you."

Janelle. Stole Bella's heart and stole her bike. They had a childhood romance that ended each time Bella went back to Arizona. She has not seen the Quileute woman in five years now. Maybe it would be nice to visit, maybe not.

"Thanks," Bella says, smiling. "You can help me unpack if you want to."

Bella tosses her gigantic backpack on the floor. Charlie examines it cautiously.

"There aren't any spiders in there, right, Bells?" he asks, looking worried. Bella snickers at the fact that her tough police officer dad struggles to kill spiders. Too good hearted, she guesses.

"Hopefully not. My friend Jessica once had an accident with some redbacks," Bella says, unzipping the first compartment.

"What's that?" Charlie asks as Bella pulls out a sleeping bag and unrolls it in the tiny bedroom.

"A highly venomous spider; they live in packs. We were releasing a rehabilitated animal back into the bush when Jessica had to pee. So she walked off into the thick of it. And she came back screaming hysterically and covered in webs. They live in colonies. You're just walking through the forest and suddenly its web central, spiders everywhere. One bite paralyzes you, I think. She was lucky. We cleaned her off. But she wouldn't stop scratching at herself for a week," Bella says and Charlie shudders.

"Ew," Charlie says, shoving a borrowed dresser against the wall and starting to put Bella's clothes away. She suddenly bursts out laughing as she tucks a bag of pads away. "Do you remember when you got your period the first time? We were staying in Idaho with Gram and Gramp and you bought the pads at the airport. You were so nervous to tell me that you made me unpack your bags until I found them."

Bella blushes and tries to suppress a smile. "Yup. I was an awkward kid."

"You still are. You'd rather be with snakes than people and honestly unless you're Voldemort that's just a bit weird," Charlie remarks, reaching into his own bag of utilities and handing Bella one of his countless coffee makers. The whole Pacific Northwest runs on an IV of coffee, even Charlie.

"You know why Voldemort has Twitter and not Facebook?" Bella asks and Charlie turns up his palms. "Because he has no friends, only followers."

Charlie cringes and laughs. "Oh, God. Just go plug that in, Carrie."

Bella grins and goes to set it up. Charlie walks in and puts in the toaster and a few pots and pans.

"You're going to go shopping for better kitchen equipment, right?" Charlie asks, looking Around in disdain for the thousandth time.

"Kitchen equipment? What's kitchen equipment?" She bursts into laughter as Charlie rolls her eyes.

"You're definitely your mother's daughter," Charlie laughs.

"Ah, come on. What's fun about being _kitchen equipment_?"

"Don't doctors make better money than this?" Charlie asks and Bella sighs.

"Once I start working I'll be doing better. Believe me, research assistants make a lot less money than zoo veterinArons and I spent most of it paying off ridiculous loans," Bella says, sighing. "I make more than you did when you entered the police force."

"Well, yeah, obviously," Charlie says, nodding. "What does zoo vet entail, exactly anyway? I know it's your idea of moving into stability and all."

"Well, I'm going to make sure all of the reptiles are healthy and happy. It's not the work of millionaires but I can afford a stable life. Not like before," Bella explains. "I'm looking forward to it anyway. There's less of a chance of being bitten by some strange bushmaster and and the satisfaction of caring for all creatures great and small."

"All scaly creatures great and small," Charlie says with a pointed shiver. "God I remember when you brought home that first snake. Janelle nearly died."

"Oh, Fernando," Bella says, snickering. "I missed home. My family. I mean, I want to _start _a family. Adventures are great but it might be nice to live like a normal human being instead of Indiana Jones: Serpent Whisperer."

"I'd watch that," Charlie says. "Look, Forks is a two hour drive and I got work in the morning. I hope you're okay, Bella. Anything you need, just call. It was hard enough when you were in Australia; it feels harder when you're so close."

"I'll be fine. Thanks for helping me get set up," Bella says as Charlie hugs her and pulls on his police jacket.

He reluctantly leaves.

Bella sits down on the sofa and picks up her laptop. Time for some Netflix and passing out asleep before her fifth show is over. She misses the sound of Sydney outside, and the constant whining of Jessica. That girl communicates by complaining, but Bella loves her.

Her cellphone suddenly rings. She picks it up and sees that the number is one she doesn't know. Wondering if it is the zoo, she slides the green button.

"Hello?" she answers, setting her laptop beside her.

"Is this Bella?" the male voice inquires.

"Yes. Who's this?" Bella asks, a little nervous.

"It's Jasper."

Bella suddenly brightens. "Jasper? How did you get my number?"

"Charlie gave it to me. She said you moved back," Jasper says and Bella smiles.

"Yeah. How are things?" Bella asks excitedly.

"Pretty good. Alice and I are still together. It's great. We should all meet up for lunch tomorrow," Jasper says and Bella nods and agrees.

Jasper and Alice were her only childhood friends. They went to Jefferson High with her and they were all outcasts. As soon as high school ended Jasper and Alice got married, with Bella as Best Lesbian. The two were perfect together, but Bella never felt like a third wheel. They all ended up at Portland State: Jasper studied biology and Alice English.

They talk for a while longer, until Bella is ready to fall asleep. She hangs up, excited for lunch the next day, and plods off to her sleeping bag.

The next morning Bella takes the truck and heads off to meet Jasper and Alice.

Miles away, in downtown Portland, Emmaline Cullen is sitting, bored in the Nightclub of the Damned. She studies her fingernails as her employees clean up after last night's festivities. They are long and opaque with a sharp rectangle at the end. She has a headache that refuses to go away.

In one hand she holds a champagne flute of animal blood. It is stale and lukewarm, but she does not care. Her friend, a newborn by the nickname of Midnight Peach, is sitting next to her, talking, while Emma does not listen.

She does not need a reflection to know how hot she is. Like any vampire, she is stunning. Emma is petite, five foot two tall with a tiny waist and moon white skin. Her hair is russet and long, caressing small breasts that press against a tight top. To a human, her golden eyes look the dark brown they were before she was changed. Her lips are thin and rosy, but complement her face. Her eyelashes are thick and dark and her nose slight. A creature of elegance and sexuality, the tiny vampiress is over two hundred years old, yet fEmmaen at twenty-four.

"Aro." It's Carlisle. "I have bad news."

"What?" Emmaline asks, looking up at him. She feels instant concern when she sees her father worried like this.

"Aro contacted me. It's urgent."

Emma purses her lips.

"What would the Volturi want with us?" Emma asks, crossing her arms. Carlisle left the Volturi in good grace, and the Cullens rarely verge on upsetting them. Esme, Emma, Carlisle, Emmet and Rosalie are vegetarians and keep moving constantly. Emma only recently decided to open a nightclub, which _may _draw some attention, but not enough to warrant a call from Aro himself.

"Something about a human," Carlisle says with a shrug.

Emma wonders what could make a human of importance to Aro. He seems to consider them to be cattle.

"What's important about her?" Emma asks and awaits Carlisle's response.

Across town, Bella is eating lunch at McMenamin's with Jasper and Alice. She holds a chocolate flavored beer that is surprisingly good, and picks halfheartedly at French Fries.

"How are the kids?" Bella asks, remembering the birth announcements of Jordan and Skye.

"Good, good," Jasper says, smiling.

Jasper is a muscular, Southern, always smirking, parkour expert who spends half of his time hiking in the cascades. Alice is a dainty with a pixie cut, and is an overly serious bookstore owner who spends half of her time writing a series of novels about an adventurous blonde action hero. They're a funny pair.

"Are you with anybody?" Alice asks, picking up her fork.

"No. Of course not," Bella says with a shrug.

"You should meet our friend. I think she's back in town," Jasper says and Alice's eyes widen slightly.

"You're right," she says, a little too loudly. "They'd be good with each other."

"You're kidding. A blind date?" Bella asks, snorting. "What's her name?"

Alice's eyes sparkle as she giggles. Jasper slowly shakes his head.

"It's a _surprise_," Alice chimes.

"Nah. Come hiking with us Saturday. Our friend would love to come," Jasper says as Alice pinches him.

"I'm just back in town and you're already forcing me into the wilderness. Of course," Bella remarks, smirking and taking a sip of her beer.

On Saturday, Bella wakes up at four in the morning. The sky is dark and nearly starless and rain drizzles from grey clouds. She tiptoes around her room, dressing in jeans, a t-shirt and a black windbreaker. She grabs her small backpack of hiking supplies and creeps down the stairs.

She grabs a tall bottle of water from the fridge and the iced coffee she prepared. As soon as she finishes her coffee, she hears a car arrive. Prompted by the yellow lights, Bella hurries outside and finds a Jeep with Jasper and Alice sitting in the front. They both jump out and hug Bella tightly.

Bella clambers into the back seat and finds a startlingly beautiful face beside her. Maybe she doesn't hate being set up by her friends.

"Hey, Bella," Janelle says, smirking.

Bella takes a deep breath. It's her old Quileute friend from high school. Jasper and Alice _had _to know this. No wonder they wouldn't tell Bella her date's name. "Hey, Janelle. How do you know Jasper and Alice?"

A rather odd expression crosses Janelle's face. Bella waits patiently for response. She does not want to blow this.

"Just randomly one day. We ended up friends," Janelle replies smoothly as the car starts.

Bella nods, unable to supply a response. She watches the dark streets move by as Alice drives. Conversation comes eventually but Bella speaks sparsely. Janelle sends her head reeling and fills her with gut wrenching anxiety. Bella has a knack for making stupid remarks and she does not want to look like a fool in front of this instantaneous crush. The power and sensuality from Janelle is overbearing, and makes Bella feel like a dumb teenage girl.

They finally arrive in Ashland with the sun piercing through a blanket of clouds. The group drives through the forest and parks in front of a well-concealed nature trail. Bella jumps out and stretches her legs, seizing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder.

"You know this trail right?" Bella asks Jasper, not finding the idea of being lost pleasant.

"Of course I do." Jasper looks at her like she is insane. "Now let's head out."

Bella walks into the forest, the sky blacked out by a canopy of dripping trees. Janelle walks close to her, infecting Bella with tension and desire. It smells fresh and crisp, the evergreens stunning. Every piece of foliage is alien to her – she is used to foreign climates but not the one she grew up in. Her eyes scan for animals that she will not find, from the habit of expeditions.

"I like the idea that less animals here are venomous," Bella says, trying to keep her mind off of the woman beside her. "When I was working in Costa Rica this guy I was working with got bitten by a fer-de-lance. We rushed him to the hospital."

"Did he make it?" Janelle asks, brushing a branch away from her face.

"Thankfully yes," Bella says. "I once got a dry bite from an inland taipan. I still have the scars on my wrist."

She pauses and rolls up her sleeve, revealing the white half moon scars. Janelle peers at it in some kind of admiration, Alice looks queasy and Jasper nods interestedly.

"Dry bite?" Janelle inquires and Bella nods.

"No venom injected. I got lucky." They start to walk again. "It looks like I got nabbed by a vampire."

Bella laughs but no one else does.

"I once got bitten by a black widow," Alice chimes in. "Hurt like hell."

"Yeah. We had them in my basement when I was a little kid. But they don't require antivenin," Bella remarks, feeling at ease while the conversation remains on her experience on the field. Tales from the other side of the world keep the conversation from getting too personal.

"I never asked how you guys all know each other," Janelle says, glancing between Jasper and Bella.

"We went to school together. I set them up," Bella says brightly.

"She was Best Lesbian at our wedding," Jasper says.

"Best Lesbian, huh?" Janelle comments with another smirk. "Will he be best straight dude at your wedding?"

"I don't think I'll get married," Bella says, laughing and waving her hand dismissively.

"I'd get married. But I'm about one bad relationship away from just getting a couple of cats," Janelle says, treating misfortune with a comic tone.

"Well, you need to stop dating flighty chicks and chasing straight girls," Jasper says loudly and Alice slaps his shoulder. "Ouch. Just a word of advice."

Idle conversation fills the next half hour of hiking. Bella is pondering whether Janelle would ever be interested in her as Alice jabbers incessantly. She feels foolish: reptiles are easier to deal with than people.

"Oo! Oo! We're almost at my favorite spot!" Alice suddenly exclaims, nearly diving off of the trail. She drags Jasper along with her and Janelle and Bella race after her.

They walk through thick brush until they come to a cliff. It juts up above a pool of water below, cold, grey, damp stone. Emerald green trees billow on the other side of the water.

Alice sits down on the cliff top, leaning back, her face illuminated by a sunbeam puncturing a wall of clouds. Jasper sits beside her and Bella slides down to sit beside Janelle. Her feet touch Alice's as the four friends relax atop the rough rock.

"I'm jumping in," Janelle declares, standing up and whipping off her jacket and shirt. Bella's eyes flash wide as Janelle undresses down to a bra and underwear. "Oh, come on? Are we the Victorian fashion police? It's freezing; I'm not getting my clothes wet."

"That's a long drop," Bella comments, peering over the cliff.

"Janelle can handle it," Alice says assertively and Jasper nudges her, nodding his head at Bella. Before Bella can decipher the odd action, Janelle runs off the cliff and plunges down into the crystalline water.

It seems as if she falls in slow motion, twirling down with absolute control. Bella has never encountered someone so superhumanly strong and it leaves her in awe. Even the muscular companions in uncharted territory pale in comparison to this small woman.

Janelle pokes her head up through the water, gasping for breath. Her teeth are chattering.

"It's fucking cold!" she calls up to her friends before bursting into shaky laughter.

"It's January, stupid!" Jasper yells, grinning. Alice blushes, pursing her lips.

"It's not _that _bad! Come on! Polar bear swim!" Janelle shouts, bobbing up and down in the water.

Jasper takes off his shirt and jeans, running off the edge and diving in. Bella always knew that he was stronger than most biologists, but something has changed. His muscles have changed from toned to rippling, and his strength and control rival Janelle. She thought that there was something different in the way he moves.

His splash reaches feet higher than Janelle's.

"You look scared," Alice comments as she stands up. "Believe me, Carrie, there's more in you than you know."

Alice dives into the pool in the same fashion. Bella stares over the edge, stunned at how her old friends have changed in a few years. If she were less skeptical, she would think that they had been overcome by some kind of mutation. Regardless of reality or imagination, Bella knows that she does not pack that kind of punch.

Although her brain warns her, she stands up and strips off her clothes. Alice wolf whistles teasingly and Bella flips her off. Gasping for breath. Bella squeezes her eyes shut and dives off of the edge of the cliff.

First, she lacks control and free falls certainly to her death. Her mind slips away from the forest and to the nightclub in her dream. She is held by arms on the stage, red spotlights on her face. The faceless figure approaches, now revealed to be a woman more beautiful than anyone else in the club. She rips out her throat.

Suddenly, Bella opens her eyes and smoothly hits the pool. She plunges into the icy water, the winds knocked out of her. For a moment, she is under water without breath longer than she imagined possible. Someone's hand grabs her and she is yanked into the crisp winter air.

She finds herself face to face with Janelle.

"Nicely done," Janelle says, nodding in approval. Bella feels heat fill her chest, combating the cold of the water.

Bella glances around and sees Jasper and Alice splashing each other playfully several feet away. She starts sinking when she stops focusing on staying afloat. Janelle grabs her and sets Bella's pale feet on her dark chocolate knees.

"Got you covered," Janelle remarks, smirking again.

"How is this so easy for you?" Bella breathes, feeling stupid.

"I'm an athlete. I train all the time," Janelle replies.

"Figures. I'm a casual adventurer," Bella says, trying not to enjoy her position atop of Janelle as much as she does. "Still, I can't believe we're not dead."

"You need to try new things," Janelle says, guiding Bella towards shallower water.

Bella stands with her feet on the gravel bottom. Her torso chills as she exposes herself to the air. Janelle follows suit and Bella is left breathless. Her body is stunning, wet cloth stuck to perfectly round cleavage. She quickly looks up and sees that Janelle's eyes are equally on her new friend. Bella is glad she put on a push-up bra this morning.

"I'm not a flighty chick," Bella dares to say, spellbound.

"I'm pretty sure you're not a straight girl either," Janelle says, smug confidence standing out against Bella's hesitation.

Janelle leans forward calmly and presses her lips against Bella's. Fire burning in water. Bella breaks away, remembering the presence of Jasper and Alice. She wades to shore and shivers in the newfound rain. Janelle follows.

"You okay?" she asks, her fingers brushing against Bella's hand. Bella welcomes the touch.

"We have an audience," Bella replies, smiling.

Jasper and Alice walk out of the water with pleased expressions. Bella realizes that they were intending for this to happen.

"Time for a climb," Jasper says, heading to the cliff. He easily clambers up, Alice in close pursuit.

Bella walks to the cliff and stares at the daunting rocks. She situates one hand on the closest hold and tries to make her way up. Janelle speeds past her as she stumbles, grasping and clawing.

It takes her at least ten minutes to drag herself to the top, panting. Janelle, Jasper and Alice are already dressed and packing up by the time Bella flops down on the rock.

Janelle helps her to her feet and hands her clothes. Bella dresses and combs through her hair with her fingers. She chugs from her Arrowhead water-bottle before slipping back into her worn sneakers walking after her friends.

They trek through the wilderness, taking in the beautiful sights. Bella and Janelle cannot stop stealing glances. If there is a such thing as a spark, they have discovered it together.

Once Bella gets home, her head is swimming with Janelle. They exchanged phone numbers and Bella waits anxiously for a text or call. She lies in bed awake for hours fantasizing about what is so close yet so far away.

Before she knows she is asleep, she finds herself in the nightclub again. This time, she is wearing a long white dress that caresses her waist and cleavage. It is beaded with ivory pearls. As she pushes through the wild dancers, she is following Janelle.

She is grabbed by the strong arms once more and dragged into the spotlight. Bella sees Janelle's panicked face in the crowd, as they all cheer for Bella's death.

The mystery woman arrives and stands in front of Bella. For the first time, Bella sees the woman's eyes – golden against pale skin and rosy lips. She is beyond beautiful with russet hair and long, dark eyelashes.

In her hand she holds a knife made of bone. Bella squeezes her eyes shut and braces herself for death.

But, suddenly, she is somewhere else. She lies intertwined with the mystery woman in the forest. They are on Alice's cliff and Bella turns around and around searching for Janelle.

The mystery woman's cold lip press against Bella's and she feels _complete_.

Bella wakes up with her heart racing. Why, when she can think only about Janelle, are her dreams filled with a woman she has never met

Bella cannot sleep, prompting her to get up out of her sleeping bag and pull on clothes. She readies herself in the bathroom and cooks French toast for breakfast. There is no doubt in her mind that she needs to get out of the house and keep her mind on something other than the dreams that plague her.

She texts Jasper and orders him to meet her at McMineman's for beers. He, as expected, immediately complies. Bella grabs her keys and purse and heads out to the Ranger, climbing in and driving towards Bethany.

Bella circles around the parking lot endlessly. An event is going on and finding a spot is a nightmare. She finally has to park across the street and walks into the wooden building.

Settling at the bar, only a few minutes pass before Jasper arrives and sits beside her. He orders pale ale and Bella tries something seasonal.

"You really hit it off with Janelle, huh?" Jasper suggests.

"She's… yeah…" Bella replies, attempting a laugh.

"She likes you a lot. I think you need someone like her," Jasper says, taking a long sip.

Bella grimaces. "You're very right. I'm smitten and I hate it."

"She's good for you. I promise," Jasper insists and Bella has to agree.

"I'm still debating if I should call her or not. Is one day too soon?" Bella whines and Jasper bursts into laughter. "What? What is it?"

"You are so blunt and unafraid of rejection. I can't even count how many times you told people to just take the first step," Jasper says, shaking his head slowly.

Bella groans and nods. She pulls out her phone and taps Janelle's name in her contacts.

Janelle answers after one ring. "Hey, Bella."

"Hey, Janelle," Bella says, relieved to hear her voice. They had a fun childhood of motorcycles and searching for snakes in the woods outside of Forks. Bella could get used to a relationship with Janelle.

"So, do you want to have dinner tonight? I'm fresh out of cash but I'm a solid cook. My place?" Janelle offers with ease. Bella has always been open and honest but Janelle is a new level of blunt. She likes it.

"I'd love to," Bella says and Jasper puts two thumbs up.

Bella breathes a sigh of relief as soon as she presses end. She stares blankly at Jasper for a moment before taking a swig of her beer. It feels nice to have _some _resolution. Maybe if she starts a relationship with Janelle the haunting dreams will end.

She and Jasper finish up and Bella heads home.

The indecision about outfits is painful. She senses a strong vibe of sexuality from Janelle, therefore, she slips on her sexiest underwear. What to wear on the outside, however, baffles her. Finally, she settles on a lace camisole, navy cardigan and trademark denim skirt. Casual but suited for a romantic dinner.

When she arrives on Janelle's doorstep, her stomach is twisting. She knocks on the door and after a brief wait the door swings open to reveal Janelle, garbed in workout clothes.

"Shit, I'm overdressed," Bella mutters, blushing.

"Nah. I just was so hung up over dinner that I didn't bother to change." Janelle smiles and allows Bella inside. "Dinner kind of burnt. I ordered pizza. Round Table."

"That's great." Bella has never been a fan of pizza and, in fact, her stomach is so full of butterflies that she has no desire for food. But she will not mess things up with Janelle like she does with every other girl.

"Here, sit down. I've got drinks." Janelle forces a glass of merlot into Bella's hand and guides her to the olive sofa.

Bella's lips part slightly as she watches Janelle's lips dampen with wine. The attraction is inexplicable; it's so sudden and desperate.

"Did you feel it when we met?" Bella breathes like an idiot.

Janelle smirks. "I work at a coffee shop. I'm pretty used to people ordering to my tits. One guy asked me for a "breast-breakfast bagel." No. There was a spark. You're different, Bella."

"I'd like to be ordinary once in a while," Bella replies, shrugging.

"If you only knew."

Silence. The heat rises like nothing Bella has experienced before. Janelle moves forward and presses her full lips against Bella's. Her smooth hands slide under Bella's cardigan, unbuttoning it from the inside and tearing off her camisole. The superhuman strength and agility witnessed on the hike is even more evident in the bedroom.

Bella eagerly kisses her again, welcoming the burning sensation. Her nipples harden under the caress of Janelle as she slides onto her back. Fumbling, she slides off Janelle's tight yoga pants as Janelle removes her t-shirt. Bella is wet and pleading like she never has been before.

Janelle guides Bella's hands along her body and Bella tries to cling to the sensation of the toned but perfect curves. Bella slides her finger into Janelle with ease but the action is forceful, rocking Janelle's form as her face contorts with pleasure.

As soon as Janelle finishes, she returns a thousand feverish kisses. Bella presses her lips against Janelle's neck, suddenly compelled to bite down playfully. Janelle suddenly freezes, gulping.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would hurt," Bella whispers, hoping the stupid move will not end the sex.

"Just startled me," Janelle breathlessly stammers before kissing Bella's navel.

She slides down and slips her tongue inside of her lover, Bella nearly choking. Janelle is talented and Bella is thrust into a world of unbearable pleasure.

_"You know you want _me_, Bella_." An unwelcome voice distracts her from the pleasure of Janelle's body. It belongs to the woman in Bella's dreams.

"I want you, Janelle!" Bella shouts, more to fight her inhibitions than encourage the encounter.

Forcing herself to focus on the moment instead of her dizzy daydreams, she comes, gasping and moaning.

The two women linger on each other for heartbeats longer, kissing and caressing in the afterglow.

Finally, they break apart. Bella fumbles for her clothes and finds her bra and camisole tattered and the button on her skirt missing.

"You're like Wonder Woman or something." Bella holds up the destroyed clothes.

Janelle smirks. "Something like that. Here, let me find you something to wear. I'm a little bit more robust in the chest area but I gotta have something. You've got a stupid booty, though."

Bella snickers, brushing her hair out of her face.

"I enjoy my bubble butt," she remarks, grinning.

She follows Janelle upstairs and watches her lover dress in a bathrobe and nothing else. Janelle rummages through her drawers and finds a tight tank top and pair of jean shorts.

"Not for this weather, and I think you're out of luck for a bra, but it'll have to do," Janelle explains, tossing Bella the clothes.

Bella dresses, glad the tank top is a soft material. She feels incredibly exposed as the contour of her breasts is revealed to the world and her long, pale legs are in the wide open.

"I've seen it all," Janelle says, looking Bella up and down.

"Could Wonder Woman read minds?" Bella teases as the doorbell rings.

"Food's here."

Bella and Janelle sit down and eat pizza in the living room.

"The snake ink is pretty nice," Janelle says, referring to the serpent tattoo around Bella's navel. It circles around a pink piercing.

"Thanks. I have another too." She pulls down her shirt in the back to reveal _So say we all _on her left shoulder blade.

They spend the rest of the night laughing and talking. Janelle is truly beautiful. Bella shares a bed with her that night, blankets piled on top of them. Janelle falls asleep quickly but Bella lies awake for hours, reluctant to dream of anything but Janelle.

However, slumber is inevitable. She wakes from her first dreamless sleep in days to the sun barely rising. Janelle is shaking her gently.

"You have to go to work," Janelle murmurs, pressing her lips against Bella's neck.

"I know." Bella suddenly realizes that it is her first day. A slight panic overcomes her and she almost runs out the door.

Bella goes home, changes her clothes and hurries down the metal apartment stairs to the parking lot. She gets in her truck and drives to the zoo. She brushes past the lines and tries to find directions to where she will start work.

Finally, she finds her boss.

"You showed up with work to do," he says, guiding Bella into a familiar back room. They all seem to look the same. "Our African rock python is shedding. He needs help."

Bella nods sharply and gets right to work.

Emma wakes up at sundown. Her oversized modeling shots from her 60's through early 80's career stare at her from above like portraits in castles. Beside her lies a beautiful vampiress, a newborn. The setting sun makes patterns on her nude back. Emma drags herself out of bed and slips on a black dress. It hugs her pallid form.

She walks into her bathroom, the vampiress still asleep in the bedroom, and does her hair. After a quick swatch of red lipstick, she looks perfect. Emma never wishes she cared less about her appearance, even though her vampirism gives her natural beauty.

"I'm going hunting," Emma says to the girl sprawled on the bed and there is a small reply.

Emma leaves her home and takes her red jaguar out into the chilly night. Her ebony hair billows in the wind as she drives towards the wilderness.

A mountain lion will distract her from her dreams about the human.

Presumably the human that Carlisle warned her about.

She shivers as she bounds out into the woods.

Miles away, Bella wakes from a similar dream. She stands up and starts to brew coffee, ready to go to work and take care of the reptiles. Bella has already developed affection towards them, but has yet to make a friend at the zoo. The other workers are kind to her, but so far she has not had the guts to truly befriend anyone.

Bella has never been great at the social scene. The thing she fears most is saying something stupid, which she seems to every day. She is too old to worry so much about what people think about her, she knows. But since she was young the social anxiety never went away.

Bella gets dressed and ready, and heads off to the zoo.

At lunch she decides to drop by the Golden Mug. She has been in Portland for almost two weeks and she has yet to visit her sister's shop. Once she is inside, she recognizes a familiar face that is not Jen or Mike.

"Janelle?" Bella walks over to the counter that Janelle is cleaning.

"Hi, Bella," Janelle says, smiling. She looks genuinely pleased to see Bella.

"I had no idea you worked here," Bella says, feeling surprised and giddy.

"I guess it never came up," Janelle replies with a small shrug.

Bella smiles faintly.

"Do you want to go see a movie tonight?" Bella offers feebly. Janelle grins.

"Of course."

That night, after Bella showers off the scent of reptiles and gets dressed, she drives to the movie theatre. Janelle is waiting for her in the lobby, clutching two tickets to a sappy romance. Bella walks to her, her heart fluttering in excitement.

"You want any concessions?" Janelle asks, walking to the stand and starting to order. Bella gets popcorn and a Dr. Pepper, as Janelle orders a slushie. They walk into the dark theatre and find it crowded with couples and flocks of teenage girls.

"So you just moved here too?" Bella asks as commercials play.

"Yeah. From La Push," Janelle replies casually. "Not quite as far as you."

"No," Bella says with a small laugh. "What brought you out here?"

"This and that," Janelle replies and Bella nods hesitantly. She wonders why a Native American would leave their reservation, but Janelle clearly wanted to work in a coffee shop or something. "And what brought you to your loathed Pacific Northwest?"

"I decided it was time for stability, and the Oregon Zoo had an opening for a decent job," Bella replies, sipping her drink between a few of her words.

"You want to settle down, then?" Janelle asks.

"I guess. I think it's about time," Bella says, her eyes shifting from the screen to her beautiful companion.

"Everybody caves in eventually," Janelle states with a small smirk. "What do you like to do?"

"I don't really know." Bella shrugs and then feels foolish. "I suppose I like to go places, try things, watch movies, read anything and everything. I've always felt like I used to sit around and wait for life to come to me, but then I realized that I needed to go find life. That's-that's too much."

"I think that's the right way to think about it," Janelle says earnestly.

"It's like, there's not enough time to sit around anxiously waiting, as if things happen without initiative. I want to see _everything_, do _everything_, and maybe that's asking for too much, but I'm going to try," Bella says vehemently, unaware of the strong passion in her words.

"I don't take it slow either," Janelle says as the lights in the theatre dim. "If I missed out, I would regret it forever."

They fall silent as the feature begins.

After the movie, Janelle and Bella walk hand in hand. They glance in the illuminated windows of shops and the people who pass by. Janelle tells a funny story and Bella laughs too hard. Bella can't help but remark on the clouds and Janelle replies like it was incredibly interesting. The night is nice.

They arrive by the water and walk along a path. Bella holds onto Janelle's hand tightly, unwilling to let go. They pass a couple kissing and Bella leans forward and presses her lips against Janelle's. It feels perfectly right.

Bella breaks apart from Janelle momentarily on the side of the water. She leans over the railing and Janelle stands back slightly. Bella saunters back and bumps into someone who is not Janelle. She spins around and sees someone in a black hoody, androgynous with pale hands.

Screaming, Bella stumbles as the figure moves at what feels like the speed of light. They seize Bella's wrist and throw her to the ground. She shrieks her head smashing against the pavement. Bella has taken enough falls that she recovers and rolls to the side, evading the foot of her attacker.

Before she can escape, the figure grabs her leg and drags her back. They pull her up and suddenly the figure is knocked to the ground. Janelle has lunged forward like a samurai. She grabs the figure by the arms and pulls them back, spinning them around and punching them in the face. The attacker falls and crashes onto the ground before springing up as if it was nothing. Janelle hits them again and there is a sound like metal hitting metal, thunderously echoing through the night.

Janelle moves backwards from the figure, whose head is reeling, and grabs Bella. She runs so fast that Bella can barely keep up. Janelle lifts Bella from her feet like a bodyguard, and before Bella can register what is happening, they are at Bella's car. After setting Bella in her seat, Janelle jumps into the driver's seat and grabs the keys from Bella's purse like lightning. She turns the key in the ignition and starts to drive.

"What just happened?" Bella murmurs, her head aching.

"It's nothing," Janelle says dismissively. Bella opens her mouth to protest, but quickly closes it. "Let's go to my place."

Bella and Janelle arrive at Janelle's house and Bella slowly stumbles inside. She sits down on the sofa and Janelle locks the door.

"Do you want something to eat?" Janelle asks and Bella shrugs, speechless.

"A glass of wine might be nice," Bella murmurs and Janelle opens her fridge, pulling out a bottle of chardonnay. "Thanks for saving me."

"It's what I'm here for," Janelle says, handing the glass to Bella.

Bella takes a hesitant sip. The adrenaline is still rushing through her veins.

"I'm not even sure what just happened," Bella murmurs, staring at her drink.

"It doesn't matter. Just some psycho," Janelle says, sitting down beside Bella.

"How did you move like that?" Bella asks, taking another hesitant sip.

"Years of practice," Janelle answers, kissing Bella on the lips. "You should stay here tonight."

"I think I'll be fine," Bella murmurs, finishing her wine.

"Please stay with me," Janelle says, kissing Bella again.

Bella returns the kiss passionately. She slips her fingers to the straps of Janelle's tank top beneath her green jacket. Sliding them down, Janelle helps remove her shirt, her cleavage pressed against Bella's. Bella kisses Janelle's neck, then her cheek. Janelle slides off Bella's dress with ease, leaving her exposed and desperately craving.

The desire is overwhelming, hot skin against skin, fingers clawing at each other pleadingly. Bella is driven mad by the movements of Janelle, so perfectly teasing and pleasing.

Bella gasps and moans as Janelle stays mute, her face contorting silently.

The tryst lasts half of the night, on the sofa, the house silent in the icy night. Rain drips from above on the house, but Bella cannot hear it over the screaming desire in her mind. Finally, they collapse in each other's arms, exhausted and glowing. The orgasms racked up so high that Bella lost count.

She slips up to Janelle's room, her goddess guiding her along the way. She feels so safe in Janelle's strong arms as they lie down in the soft bed. The moonlight trickles through the window as Bella gently falls asleep, still shaken, but also drawn irrevocably to Janelle.

That night Bella dreams about the Nightclub of the Damned again. She is on the stage, torn open. The dreams become more vivid every time they return to haunt her. Bella wonders what this all means. The person who attacked her surfaces in her head, how freakishly pale they were. And the vivacity in which they attacked.

Bella suddenly remembers a telling feature of her attacker. A marking on his hand; she recognizes it as an Eye of Horus. She wonders if it has to do with a gang she is unaware of, or maybe it is just decorative. She has her own tattoo, a snake around her navel. Maybe it is as innocent as that.

The next morning she quietly gets dressed and applies the make-up from her purse. Janelle's bathroom is cluttered with beauty products and one of the light bulbs is burnt out. As Bella dresses and tries to look less like she is slipping to work after a one night stand, Janelle sleeps fitfully. Bella walks into the bedroom and kisses Janelle's cheek gently before walking out the door and driving to the zoo.

In Lake Oswego, Emma is trying to fall asleep. She usually collapses from exhaustion after a night in her club, but her dreams have grown in intensity. The human girl who haunts her is growing clearer and more vivid: a gorgeous brunette with blood that smells sweeter than sugar. A stunning confection who Emma cannot shake

* * *

><p>Bella touches one finger to the nose of a sweet young boa. It does not panic; it simply stares.<p>

"They're very placid around you. You must be the reptile whisperer," comes a voice from above her. She looks up to see Brian, a zookeeper.

"Something like that," Bella says, easing the boa back into its habitat. "I've seen you around."

"I do work here," he says and Bella blushes. "You do that a lot."

"What?" Bella asks, confused.

"Blush. If that's not too blunt," Brian says as Bella climbs back into the part of the zoo reserved for humans.

"The hair, maybe?" she murmurs, unsure what to say.

"You want to go for a walk?" Brian asks. "My friends and I usually eat by the primates."

"I have a phobia of monkeys," Bella blurts out like a fool. "I looked like a loon in Costa Rica."

Brian laughs. "Well why don't we go somewhere else, then? You've been to Costa Rica?"

"For a couple of months. We were studying snakes in the rainforest. I've also spent time at the zoo in Belize. And a couple of countries in Africa. Brazil too, briefly. Most of my time was home base in Australia, though. Made some breaking discoveries about the differences between coastal and inland taipans… God I'm boring. I'm sorry," Bella says, stammering slightly at the end.

"That's actually really interesting," Brian says, dodging out of the way of an excited child. "I've never been outside of Oregon."

"Really?" Bella asks. "I always travelled a lot with my grandparents and sister. I lived here until I was twenty, though."

"Worldly is cool," Brian remarks. "What brought you back?"

"Stability," Bella says and they continue their walk.

"So why are you scared of monkeys?" Brian asks casually.

"Well, I watch a lot of shows about animals. And I saw one episode about primate attacks and I just lost it. They do _really _scary things to people," Bella says, scratching her shoulder. "It was really just chimpanzees at the time, but it grew to basically all monkeys."

"What about gorillas?"

"They're okay," Bella admits, attempting a smile. "The monkeys in Costa Rica point and laugh at you. Better than ripping off your face, but still freaky as hell."

Brian laughs.

Later, Bella walks back to her car as the sun is setting. She is hit by anxiety as she thinks about the person who attacked her and the Eye of Horus on their hand. It feels like some kind of Victorian mystery and it chills her. Rarely was she frightened in the Jungle or the Outback, the animals never disturbed her much. But she is scared of people. Or whatever that figure was. They were so pale, they looked like a monster.

As her thoughts spin about the attack, she is suddenly seized from behind. She at first thinks she is imagining it, but then she realizes just how real it is. Bella struggles against the superhuman force, punching and kicking. Whoever has her feels like they are made of stone.

Two more arrive, prying Bella from her attacker and dragging her towards an expensive black car. She tries to scream but the powerful man in a black hoodie clamps his hand over her mouth. Maybe they are monsters; their strength is overwhelming.

She is tossed into the back of the car and she shrieks, raising one hand and punching a female assailant in the face. The woman does not even flinch. Bella gasps and begins to panic as the door is shut and the car begins to drive.

Something punctures her skin, and Bella blacks out.


End file.
